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Visit to Maine was pleasant diversion

Susan Parker, DelmarvaNow 7:10 a.m. EDT August 26, 2014

This is one of the small communities I visited in Maine, known as Biddeford Pool. The area on the left, I was told, is normally a dry beach, but on this stormy day the water covered all but the rocks.(Photo: Staff Photo by Susan Parker)

I was away last week, visiting the state of Maine. Not entirely a vacation, but I did some sightseeing and couldn't help comparing the area with home.

I saw lots of rocky coastline, got a glimpse from afar of Walker's Point, near Kennebunkport, where former President George H.W. Bush has a home and walked the streets of Augusta, the state capital. And I ate enough lobster to last me, well, awhile.

The obvious differences were physical: no wide expanses of sandy beach that came close to resembling our coastal areas or those to our south; lots of rocks; vegetation that wasn't remotely similar to our native plant life.

But there were similarities, too. I saw salt marshes in Maine, and there were no immediately obvious differences, although more subtle variation is no doubt there for the finding. A marsh in Maine is still a marsh. The sandy beaches I glimpsed were narrow and wet, perhaps because later that day the area experienced what news reports called a record-breaking rainfall, and tides were already abnormally high, I was told.

Walking around downtown Kennebunkport, I saw small throngs of people, probably visitors like me, who were crowding little souvenir and clothing shops. It was clearly a tourist area, and while I did consider how nice it would be to see Salisbury's downtown crowded like that, we are not and never will be that kind of tourist area.

Without discounting the importance of dressing up a downtown to appeal to visitors, tourists will never come to Salisbury in numbers that would sustain gift shops, galleries and boutiques. Salisbury needs to build its increasingly loyal base of residents who see downtown as a destination. It's happening now and as much progress as it's made, there's still a long road ahead.

While I was out of town, I missed my first 3rd Friday in a long time. And when I say missed, I mean not only was I absent, I found myself wishing I could be there, especially when a friend texted me to let me know the party was still going strong well past the usual ending time of 8 p.m.

That is fantastic. Wish I'd been there.

Maine seems to be populated by very trusting people. I shopped in a variety store located across the highway from our hotel. I walked there, and when I paid for my purchases and left, shopping bag slung over my shoulder, I decided I wanted to stop in a craft store next door. I walked in and went straight to the nearest register to ask about where to leave my bag of merchandise, and was told, "Oh, you're alright, hon, just go on in and shop."

Seriously?

A friend of one of my companions and former Salisbury resident visited our hotel room and was laughing about how she was often made gentle fun of because of her habit of locking her car and front door. Apparently that's not normal behavior in Maine.

Downtown Portland sported brick sidewalks (miles of them) and a central historic plaza-like area surrounded by eateries, bookstores and a variety of other small shops. It, too, seemed well-populated. But Portland is more comparable to Annapolis than Salisbury.

I am confident Salisbury will soon be as charming as any of the spots I visited in Maine, at least in the eyes of this beholder. I recommend travel as a way to broaden minds and horizons, but it is surely good to be back home.

Susan Parker is community conversations editor for The Daily Times.

CORRECTION: This column has been updated to delete an incorrect reference to the state capital of Maine.